High-class Spring Joy

On the other side, they watched Qingyuan leave.

Granny Tang couldn't help but ask worriedly, "Madam, why didn't you take the money to redeem her? Isn't it a bit too easy for you to let her go like this?"

The old lady raised her eyelids slightly: "What? Is my Marquis's mansion about to decline? Do we lack her for a thousand taels of silver? After all, I bought her back to bring good luck to Jingyu. Moreover, she has now saved Princess Jing'an, and even the Empress Dowager praises her highly. If we treat her harshly, what will everyone in Bianjing say? What will my Zhenguo Marquis's mansion become? For a mere thousand taels, or for a lowly maid? Can't you even calculate this deal? You've been with me for so long, but these past few years have been too peaceful, and you've become more and more senile."

"It's because I'm getting worse and worse. My brain has become so dull that I couldn't even figure out such a simple trick. I hope you'll forgive me, Madam." The old lady's words brought Tang Mama back to her senses. "But what if the Fifth Young Master asks about it later? We can't let this maid ruin the mother-son relationship between the Fifth Young Master and Madam, can we?"

"So what if she asks? It wasn't me who made her leave, she wanted to leave on her own. Even if Jingyu wants to make a scene, she shouldn't do it in front of me, her mother, so it won't affect our mother-son relationship."

As the old lady spoke, she slowly fanned herself with her round fan, a slight smile playing on her lips: "I actually hope he makes a scene, the bigger the better, so that Jingyu can see clearly who really took the love from his heart. From beginning to end, it has nothing to do with us."

"The old lady is truly insightful. She knows that the fifth young master has never cared about the title of marquis. Although he dislikes the third young master, he would never compete with him openly. In the end, it is because the fifth young master values ​​brotherhood too much."

Granny Tang smiled and said, "When that girl leaves the manor on her own, she'll have nothing to do with the old lady anymore. Even if the Fifth Young Master chases after her, he'll find out that she's not only not a virgin, but she's also had an affair with the Third Young Master. Even if the Fifth Young Master has no interest in the Marquis's title then, given how much he values ​​that girl, he'll definitely want to compete with the Third Young Master. Once the Fifth Young Master has that ambition, he'll throw all brotherly affection to the wind, and the old lady will easily let him inherit the title of Marquis of Zhenguo. Besides, since that girl is no longer a virgin, when the Fifth Young Master realizes this, even if he doesn't want to forget, he'll have to accept the facts. After a while, she'll forget everything. This will save the old lady from being the villain and prevent damage to the mother-son relationship."

The old lady held a round fan in her hand, and the smile on her lips grew wider and wider: "As long as Jingyu agrees, I can pluck the stars from the sky for him. Since he values ​​that girl so much, she will be the sharpest knife in our hands."

As she spoke, the old lady picked up a Chu Jingxian fruit from the fruit plate beside her. "Look," she said, "we ordered people to dig the ground, cultivate the soil, plant trees, water and fertilize them every day, and took meticulous care of them. How much time and effort we spent, all for the sake of enjoying the sweetness of this fruit! Now, although this fruit hasn't fully turned sweet and hasn't reached the sweetness we envisioned, at least we've seen something. The rest, from sour to sweet, is just a matter of time. All we have to do is wait."

"The old lady is right."

-

When Qingyuan came out of the old lady's courtyard, she bumped into several maids and servants carrying several large bags of things heading south.

Qingyuan thought for a moment. It seemed that she had just come from the south. Could it be that she was going to Princess Jing'an's courtyard?

However, the direction they came from seemed to lead to the side courtyards where maids and servants lived. What could they possibly have to send to the princess?

Qingyuan only dared to approach and ask, "Sister Cuiwei, where did you all come from?" after she spotted the leading palace maid, Cuiwei, who served Princess Jing'an.

Cuiwei recognized Qingyuan immediately and smiled, saying, "It's perfect timing, Miss Qingyuan. When the princess visited your villa earlier, she found it too remote and desolate. She was worried that you might not be comfortable sleeping there and that it might harm your health, so she instructed us to move all your belongings to her villa so you can stay with the princess."

"This servant wouldn't dare..."

As Qingyuan spoke, Cuiwei grabbed her arm, and she was somewhat taken aback.

"What are you saying, young lady? Aren't you no longer a maid? You don't need to refer to yourself as a servant anymore."

Cui smiled and reminded him.

These words struck a chord with Qingyuan. Yes…

She was no longer a slave.

Once she returned to Bianjing with the Empress Dowager's carriage, she would never have to go back to the Zhenguo Marquis's mansion again!

The old lady didn't ask for money to redeem her, something Qingyuan had thought of but hadn't considered.

Qingyuan thought that the old lady was eager for her to leave, but if she were to be forcibly driven away or forced to leave, it would be bad for the old lady's reputation. Naturally, she could not do such a thing that would ruin her own reputation, nor did she want to cause any discord with the Fifth Young Master because of her.

Qingyuan's request to redeem herself was naturally something the old lady was happy to see.

What Qingyuan didn't expect was that the old lady only gave her a few words of advice about him bearing a son for the third young master, and didn't say much more. She didn't seem afraid, or perhaps she didn't care if others knew that she and the third young master had something unclear about.

Since it was Princess Jing'an who gave the order, Qingyuan did not refuse and followed Cuiwei to the princess's villa.

After everything was settled, Qingyuan realized while packing her things that her embroidery basket was missing.

Qingyuan was about to go back to get it, but as soon as she entered the original side courtyard, she bumped into Chu Jingxian, who was sitting in a wheelchair in the courtyard.

Qingyuan realized that she hadn't thanked the Third Young Master yet, which was really inappropriate. She stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Young Master, I haven't thanked you for saving my life this morning. I had some personal matters to attend to, so I was delayed. I hope you won't take offense."

As Qingyuan said this, she suddenly noticed that the man in front of her seemed a little off. Chu Jingxian's hands were gripping the wooden armrests of the wheelchair tightly, his knuckles were white, and the veins on the back of his hands were bulging.

His jawline became increasingly taut, and his back appeared stiff from the side. His handsome face was expressionless, as if he was trying his best to endure something.

For some reason, Qingyuan had a very bad feeling, as if something was about to happen.

The next second, Chu Jingxian's soft voice rang out: "Ah Yuan, do you know who I just met here?"

Qingyuan, unaware of what was going on, honestly shook her head: "I..."

Just as Qingyuan was about to say she didn't know, she heard the Third Young Master speak again:

"I met Fifth Brother here. He said you two are deeply in love, and that you've wanted to marry him since you were little. He said you've been by his side for ten years. This bond of decades is something no one else can compare to or take away, is that right, A-Yuan?"

Hearing Chu Jingxian's words, Qingyuan couldn't help but sneer inwardly. It wasn't that she was laughing at anything else, but she felt that Chu Jingyu was as confident as ever.

Yes, she had fantasized when she was a child that one day she and Chu Jingyu would get married.

Even after she grew up, Qingyuan had to admit that no matter how clear-headed she became, she was still consciously immersed in the fact that she loved Chu Jingyu.

But ever since Qingyuan learned that Chu Jingyu had been lying to her from the very beginning, that everything he said was a lie, she had lost all hope.

Later, when she was kidnapped by Jiang Qingyun's men and sent a message to Chu Jingyu, Chu Jingyu not only chose to stay with Jiang Qingge, but also thought she was just being jealous and unreasonable. At that time, it was impossible for her and Chu Jingyu to be friends, let alone have any other relationship.

But how could someone as confident and narcissistic as Chu Jingyu, who firmly believes in her own charm, possibly believe what she says?

Let him be. Let him think what he wants. It's only a few days left. Once she returns from Xiangguo Temple, she won't have to see Chu Jingyu every day anymore.

But compared to Chu Jingyu, Qingyuan felt that the man in front of her was even more problematic.

Qingyuan didn't quite understand what the Third Young Master was trying to say. She vaguely sensed that something was off about him, so to avoid making things unclear, Qingyuan answered conservatively: "Matters between men and women are naturally not decided by one party alone. The Fifth Young Master said that because that's what he thinks. I... don't think that way."

As for what Qingyuan herself thought, she didn't want to say in detail, nor could she.

"Is that so? Actually, these are all secondary. After all, it was just his one-sided opinion, and I wouldn't be too upset by his words. But later, my fifth brother told me something else."

As he spoke, Chu Jingxian slowly turned his wheelchair around, his tone revealing neither joy nor anger: "He said he even named you Qingyuan?"

Chu Jingxian was clearly invisible to her, and she couldn't see the changes in her expression.

But as soon as those words were spoken, Qingyuan got goosebumps all over her body, as if the oppressive feeling was actually pressing down on her.

Qingyuan's intuition told her that she absolutely could not admit it. Given the Third Young Master's intelligence, the questions he asked most likely meant that he already knew what her original name was, which was why he came to ask her.

Qingyuan opened her mouth, instinctively wanting to deny it, but then she remembered that investigating the name wasn't difficult, given the Third Young Master's abilities...

If it were that no one had suspected this before, that would be one thing. Few people knew, but it wasn't that no one did. Money makes the world go round. As long as you pay enough, there's no such thing as a secret that stays hidden forever.

Hearing Qingyuan remain silent for a moment, that was enough. Chu Jingxian concluded in his heart, "Qinghe, what a beautiful name. My fifth brother actually thinks it's lowly?"

Qingyuan froze, only then realizing that Jingxian's other hand wasn't holding the wheelchair armrest, but rather the light green handkerchief, which he was constantly stroking.

He didn't look like the gentle and refined young man she usually saw; he looked more like a wolf who had finally found its prey and was satisfied with its prey.

She looked just like the pack of wolves from last night, eyeing her like predatory predators.

The Third Young Master found out…

Could he connect her name with the rice seedlings on that handkerchief?

If the Third Young Master had never suspected him before, he probably wouldn't have thought of that.

The problem is that the Third Young Master had suspected her more than once before, so he had managed to evade her suspicions several times. However, Qingyuan was not sure if the Third Young Master truly believed her.

Qingyuan's throat tightened, and she dared not move, for fear that if she took a deep breath, the Third Young Master would drag her away and tear her to pieces.

Qingyuan was so nervous that even if she didn't speak, Chu Jingxian could hear the subtle changes in her breathing and knew exactly how nervous she was.

Why was she so nervous?

Why?

Was it because she didn't want him to know that she was the one who was with him that night?

Is it because she doesn't want to have anything to do with him?

Or perhaps she still has feelings for her fifth brother, which is why she refuses to let herself go?

Yes.

Her answer was very vague.

By this point, Chu Jingxian had given up on directly asking Qing Yuan if she was the woman from that night.

In Chu Jingxian's mind, this was a done deal, but to finalize it, he still needed some evidence.

He will definitely find this evidence; sooner or later, it won't affect his conviction about this fact.

But... she was too nervous. Her breathing became lighter and lighter, as if she was so afraid that she would rather not breathe than answer his question.

Qingyuan really hadn't figured out how to answer him.

This question came so suddenly that at this moment, no answer seems right.

She was finally about to leave the Marquis's mansion, and she absolutely couldn't let the Third Young Master find out at this crucial moment.

As Qingyuan was pondering how to cover it up, she heard the man's voice in front of her again:

"I was just asking, why are you so nervous? Do you think I'm going to eat you?"

His tone had become more relaxed, and he no longer seemed as somber and serious as before.

Qingyuan pursed her lips and replied, "This servant is just worried that the young master will also find this name lowly."

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

Chu Jingxian curled his lips and took out two small jars from his sleeve. They were two very beautiful jars, made of jade, with a warm luster and a faint green glow. You could tell from their appearance that they were not things that could be bought in an ordinary way.

Chu Jingxian explained, "When I found you this morning, Zheji told me you were pale. There were many wolves on that mountain, and the fact that you could guard it all night alone shows your extraordinary courage. You are truly a rare heroine. But even the bravest person would be exhausted in such a situation. This blue jar contains calming and soothing pills. Thinking back to this morning, I was focused on finding you, and my fifth brother was focused on winning against me, gripping your wrist so tightly. It must be red and painful by now. This green jar contains ointment to reduce swelling and relieve pain. It was specially formulated by the divine physician Sai, tailored to your constitution, and will not harm your body. You can use it with confidence."

Qingyuan was flattered: "I...I'm actually fine, there's nothing too serious, young master, you don't need to go to such trouble."

"Don't talk nonsense. Just because your fifth brother doesn't care about you doesn't mean you deserve to be bullied. He doesn't care about you because he has someone else in his heart, but I have always cared about you. Does that mean I'm not allowed to care about you just because he doesn't? Ah Yuan, there's no such logic in this world."

As he spoke, Chu Jingxian forcefully gripped Qingyuan's wrist for the first time, shoving all the medicine jars into her hands:

"No one in this world deserves it more than you."